Posts Tagged ‘Dr. Lynn R. Webster’
The Disturbing Myth of the Gateway Drug Theory
In 2012, Vanyukov et al published an article describing two separate views on the role that drugs play in initiating an addiction (Drug Alcohol Depend 2012;123:S3-S17). One is the “gateway theory” and the other is the “common liability to addiction concept.” The gateway theory places the drug as the primary factor in initiating a…
Read MoreEmotional Trauma Affects Boys and Girls Differently: What You Need To Know
Emotional Trauma Affects Boys and Girls Differently More than a decade ago, I published an article proposing a tool that providers could use to help assess the risk of someone’s developing opioid aberrant drug-related behaviors if prescribed an opioid. The instrument is commonly called the opioid risk tool, and it is still commonly used today.…
Read MorePharmacies May be Blackballing Physicians Writing Opioid Prescriptions. What You Need to Know Now
Are Pharmacies Blackballing Physicians Writing Opioids? A colleague, Dr. Bill Jones (not his real name), recently wrote me about a serious threat to his career. One of Dr. Jones’s patients, who is on chronic opioid therapy, told him that the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) had blackballed him. The patient tried to get a prescription for…
Read MoreThis is the Reason OIC Is No Joking Matter
Why Joking About OIC Isn’t Funny According to a recent Washington Post story, six in ten American adults take prescription drugs, and this has created a “vast market for new meds to treat the side effects of the old ones.” The article is titled: “The drug industry’s answer to opioid addiction: More pills.” The article…
Read MoreHow Media Fuels the Opioid Crisis
Data reporting by the media about the opioid crisis can be confusing, but when it is repeatedly reported inaccurately, it creates a perception of truth. Misinformation by the media can lead the public to demand quick fixes that won’t solve the problem and can make things even worse. Inaccurate Media Reporting Here’s an example of…
Read MoreThe United State of Grief
This is a follow up to a guest blog my friend, Steve D. Passik, posted here on September 21, 2016, called “The Painful Later Years of Frances Passik.” Steven D. Passik, Ph.D., is a Pennsylvania-based pain psychologist. I’m proud to call him a friend. He is a giant in the field of pain medicine, but…
Read MoreHow Canada’s Addiction Treatment Approach Compares to the U.S.
Canada and the United States are good neighbors, and share many values. Although Canada and the United States are part of the North American family, and we feel a kinship to them in so many ways, we have different mindsets about some key issues. Specifically, we do not feel the same way about some healthcare…
Read MoreJoin me on reddit.com tomorrow
I will be doing an AMA (Ask Me Anything) tomorrow at 3 pm EST on Reddit. Check out reddit.com/r/iama, and ask me a question.
Read MoreThe Painful Later Years of Frances Passik
Steven D. Passik, Ph.D., is a Pennsylvania-based pain psychologist. I’m proud to call him a friend. He is a giant in the field of pain medicine, but that doesn’t make his family members immune to the problems that other chronic patients face. Steve lost his mother on September 14, 2016. He’s given me permission…
Read More3 Reasons the New CDC Guidelines May Contribute to the Cost of Addiction
In the September 13 issue of Vice, Maia Szalavitz challenges the myth that the U.S. can solve the opioid crisis by reducing the supply. According to her biography published in Wikipedia, “[Szalavitz] has been awarded the American Psychological Association’s Division 50 Award for Contributions to the Addictions, the Media Award from the American College of…
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